Son of Darkness
by Hooded Skylancer
Summary: Unbeknowest to the rest of China, Tai Lung is alive...and in hiding. Too battle-scarred to come back out, and with his pride wounded, he can do nothing but wait for a chance to avenge himself. And that chance may come in the smallest way...


Hey there, people from the Kung Fu Panda boards...Since I love the movie as much as you all do, I decided to share this little idea that turned into..well...read on, and enjoy, and leave a review to tell me whatcha think.

~Hooded Skylancer-

* * *

_One_

Lifting his eyes up to the sky and groaning inwardly, the muscular snow leopard quickly flipped his hood on and stalked over to the dark cave entrance, his paws padding silently on the smooth stone floor.

The spotted big cat looked to his left, then right furtively before daring to poke his head out of the shadows of the cave. His cold amber eyes searched the pale, sandy beach and the dark waves going on endlessly to the other side of the world. The shore almost gleamed with moonlight, the crescent high in the dark night sky, with stars shining like diamomds overhead.

With an impatient lash of his tail, Tai Lung hissed out, "Who's there?"

He was sure he'd heard someone. Straining his ears to pick up sound, the masive snow leopard gazed around the beach, but all he heard was the rythmatic splash of the waves and the faint rustling of the sighing wind between the dark trees bordering the shore. With a growl, Tai Lung turned to leave.

Then his sensitive ears pricked up at the sound something other than the pounding and rolling of the ocean.

A faint cry.

Tai Lung quickly whirled around and his eyes filled with shock as he looked down at the young jaguar cub two inches away from his feet.

The kit was swaddled in blankets and displaying a sweet smile on its innocent, spotted face. Two

emerald green eyes peered curiously at the well-built Kung Fu Master gaping over him.

Tai Lung glanced around uneasily, clamping his jaw shut. Taking a quick risk, he whispered, "Hello? Anyone there?"

No one answered except his own seemingly loud echoes bouncing off the cavern walls. Tai Lung peeked diwn again, and for a split second his eyes grew wide. The cub had vanished! The only remaining evidence of his existence was the cloth that had been wrapped around him, now laying in front of the big cat as a wrinkled heap.

Said snow leopard didn't need to look around that much, because he found out, painfully, where the jaguar cub was. With a yelp, Tai Lung turned sideways and discovered the kit's sharp teeth gnawing on his tail, his unknowing green eyes staring up at him.

"S-stop that!" Tai Lung chided, yanking his mangled tail away. "This...this isn't a teething ring!"

The young jaguar looked up beseechingly, sniffling slightly, reaching out his little claws as he reached for his stolen plaything. The older feline growled sharply in return, causing the cub to lift his snout to the sky and bawl pitifully, his cries reverberating off every wall in China. Tai Lung covered his ears and cringed, letting go of his tail by accident. Immediately, the cub stopped wailing and snatched the spotted tail, chewing viciously.

"Ow...ow-ow! OW! Stop that!" Snarled Tai Lung. The baby giggled through a mouthful of fur in response.

Tai Lung suddenly felt something inside him give way looking at the young jaguar. "You must be hungry," He murmured, reasoning. As if on cue, the cub cooed and let go of his tail. Tai Lung scowled, crossing his thick arms, fur bristling as he eyed the little jaguar intensely, biting his bottom lip in thought.

"Oh...alright," The feline snapped to himself. He then cautiously bent down and lifted the small cub up in his arms. The baby was so unfit in them; Tai Lung's muscular body did not seem suited for cradling little cubs. He sneered disdainfully as the jaguar kit snuggled against his chest and purred softly. But yet, as the former Master looked down, he felt his eyes unwillingly softening, as well as a small bruised part of his heart, and slowly, a faint suggestion of a smile began flickering on his snout so used to frowns.

The cub looked up with half-closed eyes and sighed happily, burying his soft-furred forehead against Tai Lung. The snow leopard, hesitantly, unsteadily stroked the top of his spotted head, feeling the warm, fluffy down. All the cub had on were brown, ragged shorts and nothing else. Tai Lung walked over to where he had found him, but no note was to be seen.

"No matter," The feline said softly as he gazed around the shore, "You'll stay with me, Raiso."

* * *

Tai Lung's guess proved correct; little Raiso was hungry indeed. But the only thing the Master could scavange for him were rice crackers and half a cup of green tea.

"Supplies are running low," Tai Lung mumbled to himself. He set the cub down on a chair and pushed him up to the table, but the top went over his head. In other words, he couldn't reach it; all you could see were the tops of his ears.

Tai Lung searched across the room and swiftly spotted a pillow. He grabbed it and took it over to the cub, who looked up with confused eyes. The snow leopard lifted Raiso up with one arm and with the other set the pillow on the chair, letting go of the cub who was now sitting on his levitating cushion, granting his head to reach over the tabletop.

The Master nodded at his work before snatching up the small packet of crackers and the cup of tea and setting them on the table.

"Okay. Eat." He commanded. The baby looked up questioningly. "Eat! C'mon kid, it ain't that hard."

Raiso stared down at the crackers in utter confusion, fidgeting in his seat. "Why won't you eat?" Tai Lung scowled.

The cub picked up a cracker, studying it seriously, before throwing it on the ground and laughing.

"Aw, c'mon, Raiso! Don't do that!" Tai Lung sighed. The cub picked up another one, but the snow leopard quickly leaped forward and tried to gently grab his arm, hoping not to crush the kid's bones in his huge paws. Raiso frowned quizzically as the other feline squeezed his arm and dropped the cracker. Before it plummeted down to its doom, though, Tai Lung caught it delicately in mid-air, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, look, kid," He ordered. He straightened out and put the cracker in his mouth, then began chewing it. "Yum," he said, rubbing his stomach. The cub clapped his paws happily and squealed in glee.

"No, eat it." Tai Lung growled, feeling red creep up his cheeks. Suddenly, he remembered that when he was a cub, he refused to eat anything unless Shifu-curse his name-fed it to him. Tai Lung sighed and slowly sat down on a stool next to the jaguar cub.

"Okay, here," He clutched a rice cracker and thrust it inches from the kit's face. "Eat."

Raiso laughed, and Tai Lung took his opportunity to push the cracker gently into the cub's mouth.

The little jaguar chomped on it until he swallowed, then grasped out, cooing for more.

Tai Lung managed a surpressed chuckle of satisfaction, groping for another rice-square. "There you go, kid. That's it, Raiso."

Once the cub didn't want anymore, Tai Lung set him down beside his mat on a pad made of a couple scrawny blankets and a pillow. The cub crawled on top the pillow, yawned once, drooped his green eyes shut, and promptly started snoring softly. Tai Lung watched on with raised eyebrows until he felt his own aching body, which remained sore even though it had been three months since The Battle, call for rest.

The snow leopard's tentative half-grin soured into a furious grimace as he thought of that event, but his rage stilled from a churning fury in his stomach to a flutter. Someday, that fake Dragon Warrior would pay, Tai Lung vowed to himself, the same promise he'd reassured his anger with for the past season. Just not yet. Not yet.

He glanced over at Raiso and mustured one last smirk before drifting off to dreamland.

"You'll go far, kid," he murmured sleepily, "Just stick with me."


End file.
